What Every Dieter Needs To Know About Restaurants

Eating out in a restaurant can be a dieters worst nightmare. There are so many scrumptious looking meals that can tickle our temptations. Unfortunately though, many of these are not good for the waistline. But luckily, with a bit or care and discipline, eating out can be lots of fun even if you are watching your figure.

Once you’ve got into the routine of eating healthily at home you’ll most likely be feeling the benefits. As you get used to it, you will probably realise that it is not that hard.

When you go out to dine though, it can hard to resist the temptation to tuck into a tasty looking high calorie meal. You need to be careful when dining; eating one high fat meal could undo a weeks worth or hard work and discipline.

 

When eating out, do a bit of research and take care. Before dining out, narrow down your local restaurants to only the ones that do not serve oily and greasy foods. Or, see if the restaurant offers lightly sautéed or grilled dishes rather than just frying them.

If you’ve gotten used to eating healthily at home and eating all the right things, eating responsibly in a restaurant will be as easy as ABC. Like when eating at home, be sure your intake of fresh veggies is high, whether this is in the form of salads or side dishes. If you are to eat a fatty meal like pizza, balance it out with fresh greens.

 

A wise way to dine out is to eat multiple small dishes rather than having one big dish. This makes eating out a lot of fun, and lets your taste lots of different fascinating flavours. Again, balance out whatever you eat with healthy salads, and stick to water and fruit juice rather than carbonated sodas.

If possible, don’t eat all of your meal in one go; ask if you can take some of it home to eat later.

If you are eating fast food, be responsible and only order a single burger with salad, and avoid topping it off with cheese and mayonnaise. Stick to just thin crust pizzas and go easy on the cheese.

Eating out does not have to become boring just because you are on a diet. In fact, it can be a lot of fun because it will make you realise that are lots of healthy meals out there that taste wonderful.

With a little bit of care a discipline, you can enjoy eating out whenever you like without having to worry about what it will do to you waist.

Once you’re back from eating out, a great diet to get stuck into is The Lunch Box Diet developed by acclaimed personal fitness expert Simon Lovell. Called ‘the best diet’ 5/5 by Elle Magazine, the diet is said to be ‘a way of life’. Click here to find out more.

All the best

Daryl

Top 10 Foods For Smooth Glowing Skin

People who want great looking skin often look for the best creams and lotions they can find to give their skin a vibrant glow. What many don’t realise is that they can give their skin this vibrant glow naturally by eating all the right foods.

A healthy eating plan rich in vegetables and healthy foods provides countless benefits to your health and skin. Adopting a healthy diet containing the top 10 foods for skin listed below has even been known to reverse diabetes and skin disease, and reduce the risk of cancer.

Healthy eating is the key to having beautiful young looking skin. Here are the top 10 foods for skin put together by Simon Lovell, media expert and author of The Lunch Box Diet:

 

1. Avocado

The avocado is known for its numerous properties that benefit the skin. It contains many healthy fats that plump up the skin and smooth away the dryness. Avocados have the highest content of vitamin E when compared with other fruits, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps strengthen the white blood cells.

 

2. Berries

Strawberries, blackberries and blueberries are all good for the skin because of their high antioxidant content. These 3 berries have been found to have the highest antioxidant capacity of any foods. They produce collagen which keeps the skin smooth and plump.

 



3. Low Fat Yoghurt

Low fat yoghurt is rich in one of the most important components of skin health – Vitamin A. Experts have stated that the health of skin cells is largely dependant on how much Vitamin A is present in our diets.

 



4. Broccoli

Broccoli is a vegetable that contains an abundance of health benefits, and is good for the skin. Broccoli is high in Vitamin A and thus promotes good turnover of skin cells. Eating broccoli can help to renew skin cells quickly making your skin look fresher.

 



5. Whole-Grains

Whole-grains are rich in the mineral Selenium, which is why they promote healthy skin. Selenium has been shown to reduce skin damage after prolonged exposure to the sun. High levels of selenium in your system prevents your skin from oxidative damage that can increase cancer risks.

 



6. Spinach

Rich in vitamins B, C and E, spinach possesses strong anti-aging properties and helps to give the skin a healthy glow. Also, the iodine contained in spinach is said to combat skin disease.

 

 



7. Omega-3 Fish

Omega-3 is one of the healthy fats that are highly sought after by the health-conscious. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for strengthening the skin cell membranes and preventing toxins from being absorbed.





8. Non-Starchy Vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables are high a fibre and bolster your age-defying bacteria. If you have blotchy or tired skin this can often be due to a lack of fibre. Lack of fibre can lead to disrupted digestion that stops nutrients from being absorbed properly. This starves your skin of the nutrients it needs to look younger and healthier.

The health benefits of a diet based mainly on non-starchy vegetables are endless. In fact, a UK study has shown that adopting a diet consisting of only liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables has been shown to reverse diabetes and cure the condition in just 3 months. Because they are non-starchy, they do not affect blood glucose.

Common non-starchy vegetables include carrots, broccoli, sprouts, celery, asparagus, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuce, beets and watercress.

 



9. Green Tea

The health properties of green tea are vast. The list of skin benefits that green tea provides goes on and on. Green tea, whether consumed as a drink or applied to the skin, can decrease risk of damage from the sun and thus lessen the risk of skin cancer.

Green tea also has strong anti-inflammatory properties. Being as it is rich in polyphenols, it prevents inflammation and is beneficial to overall skin health.

 

10. Lean Red Meat

Not getting enough iron can result in having unhealthy skin. Lean red meat is a good source of iron for anyone who needs it, but you should be careful not to eat any red meats that are too high in fat.

With a healthy diet that includes the top 10 foods for skin listed above, it’s unlikely that you’ll need to rely on creams and lotions to give your skin a healthy glow. Fill yourself with nutritious and healthy foods, and your skin will take care of itself. The Lunch Box Diet is great for the skin because it’s packed full of the foods that your skin needs to look smooth and healthy. Within 7 days you will notice a difference. Click here for more information.

All the best
Daryl

Pointers on Losing Weight Safely

People who want to lose weight commonly, and first of all, think about reducing the amount of food they eat. This may be quite a solution but not exactly the best there is. In fact, depending on the amount you reduce in your food intake, it may even be dangerous to one's health. So how does one lose weight effectively and safely? Here are some points one should consider when trying to lose weight:

 

Beware of the Crash Diets

Most people think that trimming down the calories can alone shed off their unwanted excess. Probably this is because of the fad there is in advertising about low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don't know is that this could be dangerous because when they decrease their calorie intake way to below the required levels, the body begins to digest the fats. Sounds good but it doesn't actually. Burning fat requires a lot of energy. Since there is not much energy in the body to facilitate metabolism of fat, it will run at a very slow pace resulting to fatigue, illness and weak immune system.

Low-calorie diet is also compensated for by the body by burning muscle. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back some, if not all the weight they have shed off. This would consist mainly of fats. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscle, they end up having the same weight as before but more bulkier. In losing weight, one should keep in mind that they should lose excess body fats only.

However, one can try out eating small meals at more frequent intervals. This way the body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat.

Eat Properly

One may have considered junking the crash diet option but he should also not forget to watch what he is eating. Variety must always be considered so that one may be able to get the necessary nutrients from his diet.It is also healthier to eat food which are roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. It is also important to include a lot of fiber in the diet. Frequent rehydration is also necessary.

 

Pump Up lean Muscle Mass

Muscles burn calories when they work; they even do so at rest. Unlike fats which just lie around, bulge around the pants and dangle beneath the sleeves, muscles burn calories all-day round. With this fact, one can start weight loss by increasing muscle mass. The more muscles, the less fat will be left. This is attainable starting with working out with resistance exercises.

Engaging in Aerobics

Aerobics are not only good for the heart by increasing cardio-vascular endurance. Aerobics also help in increasing lean muscle mass while simultaneously decreasing excess body fat. Aside from these, aerobics make the metebolic process more efficient and its rate high, even after a long while. Imagine burning fat efficiently while driving along the freeway or even while watching television.

Extra "Push"

Some people believe that smoking and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. This can perhaps be true; however, they do the body more harm than good because of their side-effects. For that extra "push", one can try out taking food supplements. Afterall, 95% of these products out in the market actually does good.

 

On Taking Diet Pills

Over-the-counter diet pills affect the amount of weight one loses as well as how long one keeps that amount of weight off. However, one must be wary of the side-effects of these diet pills. As such, one must faithfully follow the instructions provided for in the packaging. It is also prudent to consult the physician anyway before trying out these drugs and also to find out which type would be best for the individual.

Losing weight does not have to mean sacrifice and suffering. It actually means opening up to a more full and healthy life where one may not have to feel bad about himself having to look the way he does or not being able to do what he wants to do. Losing weight might entail a little adjustments plus the discomforts, but as the old saying goes, "no pain, no gain." Besides fat, what has one got to lose anyway?

All the best

Daryl

In Better Shape: The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?

In Better Shape: The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?: For a long time now it has been speculated that type-2 diabetes can be cured by adopting a low calorie diet. This claim has been met by sce...

The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?

For a long time now it has been speculated that type-2 diabetes can be cured by adopting a low calorie diet. This claim has been met by scepticism in many corners, but now we have evidence to prove that it may actually be true. But I’m not so sure it’s all cracked up to be…

Scientists from Newcastle University in the UK conducted a two month long study which they believe shows that type-2 does not have to be a life-long illness.

There study involved 11 participants who cut their calorie intake to under 600 calories per day for 2 months. 3 months after the experiment finished, 7 out of the 11 participants were free of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is caused when there is too much glucose in the blood. Unlike type-1 diabetes, which develops in children when their bodies cannot convert insulin into glucose, type-2 is very closely linked with obesity. This explains why theorists have suggested that a low calorie diet could cure type-2 diabetes.

Just a week into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the participants had returned to normal. MRI scans taken at this time showed that the fat levels inside their pancreas had also gone back to normal. This means that the pancreas had now regained the ability to make insulin.

One of the participants in the study, who had suffered from diabetes for 6 years, said that 18 months on he still did not need to take his old diabetes tablets. This is great, but what about the others?

So now the question is, how can a diabetic go about adopting a new low calorie diet plan that could free them of this disease? Going for 600 calories straight away… I don’t think so, but you could build up lower calories until you reach your optimum level, and stay there for life. How does that sound?

I’m not saying that if you have diabetes you shouldn’t use this 600 calorie method, but I know from my dieters that they are able to sustain their weight loss after my diet and I believe it can be used to reverse diabetes too. Many of them simply reduce their lunch box and breakfast and meal sizes over time. They lose weight, get healthier and have more confidence.

You could just eat a 600 calorie Lunch Box from all day from breakfast to you evening meal but I think there’s the way I just described would be more effective, long term.

We need to remember that those on this study would have been working under strict conditions and if you’re overweight and have diabetes, the chances of switching and sticking to a very low calorie diet are very slim, especially if you’ve been a yo-yo dieter in the past. We need to consider so many
different variables.

Slow and steady is the key when introducing any new eating habits so that the results can be sustained. I’d bet a fair amount of money that if 1,000 people tried eating 600 calories for 8 weeks and then maintaining a healthy weight, not even 10% would succeed long term because of the psychological and emotional battling that goes on when you restrict yourself for this long.

Low-Calorie Diabetes Diet Plan

As we have seen from the study, the participants restricted their calorie intake to 600 calories per day. So, the way a diabetic can design a new diet plan is to learn about the calorie levels in different kinds of foods and drop their calories down.

With this knowledge, a diabetic can plan their daily meals accordingly and make meals and snacks out of the low calorie foods they enjoy.

Before getting on to what kinds of foods are good to eat on this kind of diet, we need lay the ground-works. The key to dieting is not just about what you eat, but how you eat.

Eating Schedule

When starting out on a diet, it’s important to get a good eating routine going. Rather than just eating 3 large meals a day, it is much better to eat smaller meals, and then have snacks in between (ie from a Lunch Box). As I mentioned earlier, instead of reducing your calories to 600 straight away, you could use The Lunch Box Diet by gradually reducing the box size over time and then reduce the portion size of breakfast and evening meals so you’re reducing your calorie intake more steadily. This is how a lot of people have had amazing weight loss results on the plan.

 

Figuring out a rough time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day can start a good flow that your body will get used to. Then you can identify the mid-point between these meals when you can have a snack. So if you decide to have breakfast at around 8am each morning, and lunch at 12:30, you can have a snack (or eat from your box) in between at around 10:15am.

Eating in this way is important for all sorts of reasons. It fills your body with energy frequently and keeps you metabolism moving fast. It is especially important to eat this way with a very low-calorie diet, as you are likely to get hungry quite often. Eating more frequently throughout the day will make sure you are less hungry because there will be no large gaps in between your meals.

Knowing About Calories

So after working out a rough eating plan, the next step will be deciding what to eat. To ensure the eating plan stays low, knowledge about the calorie levels in different kinds of foods is needed.

With good knowledge of calorie levels, it becomes easy to design appropriate meals. It can even be a lot of fun to create meals out of the low calorie ingredients that are to your liking.

Low Calorie Foods

To give a brief overview of the calorie levels of some common foods, here is a breakdown of some of the lowest calorie foods:

Under 50 calories (per 3.5oz):

Boiled Beans

Brocolli

Brussel Sprouts

Lentils

Fat-free yoghurt



Under 100 Calories (per 3.5oz)

Mung Beans

Low-fat Cottage Cheese

Low-fat fromage frais

Noodles

Porridge

Tofu



Under 150 Calories (per 3.5oz)

White fish

Lite Mayo

Boiled Bleached Pasta

Wheat Pasta

Boiled Chick Peas

Long Grain White Rice

Brown Rice

Spaghetti



Hopefully this list gives a good idea for what kinds of low-calorie meals can be designed to fit in with this diet.

With knowledge of calorie levels, creating meals can be a lot of fun, and involve a lot of creativity.

There are plenty of options for low calorie breakfasts, lunches and dinners. For breakfast you could enjoy a bagel with fat-free cream cheese, or oatmeal with raisins for less than 200 calories.

A simple tuna, turkey, or smoked chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes can be eaten for lunch at around 240-280 calories, or you’d have your lunch box to nibble on. It’s better this way because you’re blood sugar levels tend to spike when you’re just eating ‘lunch’. I try not to think of ‘lunch’ as lunch and just graze…

A low calorie dinner option could be salmon with a quick serving of brown rice, salad and low calorie salad dressing, or maybe a 2oz whole wheat pasta dish with frozen shrimp, feta cheese and marinara. Perhaps Asian stir-fry containing carrots, broccoli, red pepper and garlic would go down well with little over 300 calories.

For snacks in between meals, a tossed salad, a fruit salad or a slice of raisin bread is unlikely to be over 50 or 60 calories. If you’re on the go you could pick up a quick low fat cereal bar or rice cakes to keep you going.

These are just some of countless possible examples of how creative you can be with a diet like this. There are actually lots of low calorie eating options, so there are plenty of possibilities for making meals that contain the foods you like best. Obviously dieting is much easier if you enjoy the food you are eating, so you should focus on including your favourite low calorie foods as often as possible.

If you know all the possibilities available for designing low calorie meals and snacks, adoption this diet can be easy and a lot of fun. The health benefits of having a diet plan like this are vast. As we have seen, some people have been able to cure their diabetes for good by adopting a low calorie diet.

Even if the diabetes doesn’t go away, no-one can possibly not be in better health by eating a diet like this. Chances are having diabetes would be easier to cope with anyway, that’s if it doesn’t get cured all together.

All the best

Daryl

Sneaky Tactics To Give You More Energy & Productivity At Work

Dealing with the pressures and challenges that most of us face in the workplace on a daily basis is no easy task. You really have to go an extra mile in the workplace in order to get noticed, but you certainly do not have to compromise your health to do this. Eating healthy at work isn’t hard when you know how…



It’s no surprise that some people get tired and stressed at the end of a long day at work. However, there always seems to be some people who are bright and vibrant all day long who seem to deal with all situations easily. These are the people with more energy – more often than not they are the ones who are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need from their diet to stay sharp and focused throughout the day.

So, how can you improve your productivity and performance at work through your diet? Here’s how…

First of all, make sure you eat breakfast every day. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and can determine your energy levels for the entire day. A combination of milk and oats or cornflakes is an ideal breakfast and provides your with lots of calcium. Boiled egg is also a good way to start the day – this gives you lots of proteins and carbohydrates to get you through a busy morning and afternoon.

While you are at work, do you ever get tempted to drink coffee? I know it can be very tempting, but in actual reality coffee can have the reverse effect that people are hoping for. Most people drink coffee to boost their energy levels, but too much caffeine can lead to lethargy, and can cause your body weight to increase at faster rates.



It’s important to not skip any meals during the day and that’s where the Lunch Box Diet comes in, it’s always available to you, you can keep it on your desk or in your office fridge. When your workload piles up, it can be easy to skip meals in order to get things done, but try your best to eat all the meals you need. Take responsibility for the food you eat. If you are being served a work lunch, get yourself a nice salad or whatever is the healthiest option. Your choice of food will have a big impact on you work performance.

If the food provided by your work is not up to scratch, don’t hesitate to make your own lunchbox and use my tasty combinations to keep you interested, that way you’re more likely to stick with it.

If you are going to snack when you get home, which you will probably be tempted to, try and supplement it with something healthy like a piece of fruit. So if you feel like eating some fried food, eat something healthy along side it to restore the healthy balance. A great healthy diet plan to look at is The Lunch Box Diet which has been called one the best diets ever by Elle Magazine who said it became a ‘way of life’. Click here to find out more.

Summary: Eating Healthy to Excel at Work:

- Eat breakfast every day

- Avoid drinking too much coffee at work

- Don’t skip any meals

- Stick to salads and healthy sandwiches made from home

- Supplement fatty snacks with healthy accompaniments

All the best

Daryl

Simple Tricks To Save Money While Losing Weight

Lot’s of dieters right now are talking about how hard it is to eat healthily now that they don’t have as much money to spend on food as they used to. Yes, the economy has hit everyone hard, but eating healthy on a budget is still very easy with a little know how. In fact, buying healthier foods can actually help us save a lot of cash.

All it takes is for you to keep track of your expenses. Have you ever kept a record of how much you spend on food every week? Most people don’t. If you do this, you naturally save pennies.

Start tracking all of your food expenses. This includes any kind of food you eat – trips to the donut shop, meals from restaurants, pints of beer at the pub etc. As time progresses, saving money on food will just get easier and easier. You will able to see your average expenses per week and per month.

When you do this, it opens your eyes to where you are spending money on unnecessary foods. Then, you can start making wiser choices.

Here’s a few examples, for each doughnut you buy from the bakers, you could buy say a whole box of cereal bars for only a little more than the cost of one doughnut. So, if you ate one cereal bar from your box each day rather than buying a doughnut a day, you’d save a lot of money and lose a lot of weight!

Here’s another example, you total up all your expenses and notice that you buy 5 sandwiches a week from a sandwich shop. You could spend less money on a loaf of wholemeal bread, fresh salad and healthy sliced meat. Then you could make 5 sandwiches from home for the same cost of 2 sandwiches from the sandwich shop.

Major savings can be made in supermarket shopping. One method to save is to buy fruits and vegetables in bulk quantities as this gives you a better price. A word about vegetables – avoid trimmed vegetables as they tend to cost more.

Things like potatoes, garlic, ginger and onions are relatively cheap and carry strong health benefits like strengthening the immune system.

With regards to meats, do not buy boneless meat as this will be more expensive. Avoid red meat as much as you can and opt for white meat. This is easier on the wallet and the heart.

If you eat high calorie foods for your breakfast, changing to a healthier breakfast can help you save a lot of pennies. If you eat fried bacon and eggs for breakfast, you’d be a lot better of financially and health-wise if you bought things like oatmeal and whole wheat muffins instead.

If you are going to eat things like pizzas and burgers, make these at home and avoid eating out at restaurants. The kind you can make at home will be a lot healthier than the types you would get in restaurants. Also, if possible, try to invite your friends around more often instead of going out to pubs. We all know how our wallets can get drained quickly when we go to pubs often.

Believe it or not, eating healthily can actually be a good way to save money. Keep track of your food expenses and you’ll be surprised at how much you can save by cutting out the junk and buying healthier alternatives. A great diet that you can lose weight with and you can save money on is The Lunch Box Diet by Simon Lovell. In fact MSN reported that this diet could save you hundreds per year if you stick to it. Click here to find out more

All the best

Daryl